“For our purposes, it was the concussion (we looked at closely),” Howson said. “He played since the knee injury and with no problems, but the concussion was a concern. We wanted to make sure he was fully recovered from the concussion and our doctors took a close look at him over two days. They were convinced that he’s recovered.

“We know what his history is. It’s because of the way he plays. He plays hard; he’s competitive. His injury history would indicate he’s a 60- to 70-game player, and we’re OK with that.”

If healthy the Blue Jackets will get FAR more value out of Martinek than the Wiz. A vastly underrated defender due to his injury history and the market he played in. He matches up very well defensively in a shut down role because of his stick and mobility and moves the puck very well even though it doesn’t show in his offensive numbers.